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LIBRARY 


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(in)iQ 


PAITPHLETS 


ON 


RURAL  SCHOOLS 


i:v^iif 


/Ba"bcock,  E*  B,   Suggestions  for  garden  work  in 
California  schools 

oCockefair,  E.  A»   The  use  of  the  score  card  in 
rural  schools, 

^/Davis,  J.   practical  training  in  negro  rural 
schools 

^7  Draper  J  A.  r>.   Shall  we  have  school  super- 
vision in  the  rural  districts? 

^ Gates,  p.  T»   The  country  school  of  to-morrow 

6  James,  C.  C!»   Teaching  of  the  elements  of 
agriculture  in  the  common  schools 
« 

C'Macfeat,  M.   Eleiiientary  agriculture  and  school 

gardening  at  Winthrop  College,  Rock  Hill,  S.C 

i;  Fearing,  S.   Doing  things  in  rural  schools 

^  Ohio  rural  school  agricultural  cluhs.   Direction 
and  report  sheet  for  corn. 

/  Jpdegraf f ,  H«   The  improvement  of  the  rural  school 

^/ '''indsor  County  Y.M.C.A.,  ¥hite  River  Juncton,  Yt» 
Some  conditions  and  needs  among  the  rural 
schools  of  Windsor  Courity 


Illinois,  University  hulletin.   Consolidation 
of  country  schools, 

Massachusetts,  board  of  education  "bulletins  4  and  6 
5        Agricultural  xr'roject  study  1913 

"         "      "  hihliography 


AUG 3-  nu 

Btpuxtmtnt  of  Mortal  anh  ^"^jyKgftfflfei ; 


Social  Service  Series  Bulletin  Number  19 

The  Improvement  of  the  Rural 
School 


a. 


By 
Harlan  Updegraff 


Boston 

American     Unitarian     Association 

25  Beacon  Street 


SOCIAL   SERVICE   BULLETIN 

The  purpose  of  the  Bulletin  is  to  offer  sug- 
gestions for  the  conduct  of  work  for  the  com- 
mon good  in  our  churches,  and  also  to  give 
circulation  to  articles  of  value  on  different 
phases  of  the  social  question, — some  original 
contributions,  and  others  reprints  from  the 
magazines  and  the  reports  of  various  societies. 

No.  1.     The  Social  Welfare  Work  of  Unitarian 
Churches 

The  report  of  an  investigation. 
No.  2.     Working   with   Boys     By  Rev.  Elmer  S. 
Forbes. 
Hints  on  the  organization  and  conduct  of  Boys'  Clubs. 
No.  3.     The  Individual  and  the  Social  Order  in 
Religion     By  Rev.  Frederic  A.  Hinckley. 
Individualism  and  socialism  reconciled  by  religion. 
No.  4.    A  Remedy  for  Industrial  Warfare.     By 
Charles  W.  Eliot. 
The  Canadian  Act  for  maintenance  of  industrial  peace. 
No.  5.    Some  Unsettled  Questions  about  Child 
Labor.     By  Owen  R.  Lovejoy. 
Four   problems  which     require    immediate  attention. 
No.  6.     The  Social    Conscience   and  the  Reli- 
gious Life.     By  Francis  G.  Peabody. 
The  awakening   of  the  churches  to  social  problems. 
No.  7.     Friendly  Visiting.     By  Mary  E.  Richmond. 
A  direct  and  personal  method  of  philanthropic  activity. 
No.  8.     Rural  Economy  as  a  Factor  in  the  Suc- 
cess of  the  Church.     By  Thomas  N.  Carver. 
Prosperous  members  essential  to  a  successful  church. 

No.  9.     The   Relation   of    the   Church    to    the 
Social  Worker.     By  Herbert  Welch. 
The  spiritualization  of  charity  and  social  reform. 
No.  10.    Popular  Recreation  and  Public  Moral- 
ity.    By  Luther  H.  Gulick,  M.D. 
As  a  man  playeth  so  is  he. 

(For  additional  titles  in  this  iSeries  see  inside 
back  cava-  of  this  Bulletin.) 

Order  by  number  only,  not  by  Hfle. 

AMERICAN     UNITARIAN      ASSOCIATION 
25  Beacon  Street,  Boston. 


iijpartmfttt  of  Mortal  unh  P«blU  0?riitr^ 

Social  Service  Series  Bulletin  Number  19 

The  Improvement  of  the  Rural 
School 


By 
Harlan  UpdegrafF 


Boston 
American     Unitarian     Association 

25  Beacon  Street 


\ 


The  Improvement  of  the  Rural 
School  * 

The  improvement  of  the  rural  school  is,  at  the 
present  time,  one  of  our  most  important  educational 
problems.  Although  it  does  not  present  the  same 
aspects  in  every  state,  no  section  is  freed  from  the 
responsibility  of  endeavoring  to  find  its  solution. 
It  is  not  a  new  problem.  Ever  since  the  time  of 
James  G.  Carter,  and  of  Horace  Mann,  educators 
have  called  attention  to  the  deficiencies  of  the  coun- 
try school.  The  counts  in  the  indictment  which 
have  been  brought  against  it  through  all  these  years 
differ  but  little, —  unattractive  sites,  miserable 
buildings,  insufficient  equipment,  poorly  prepared 
and  poorly  paid  teachers,  inadequate  and  incom- 
petent supei-vision,  unevenly  distributed  enrollment, 
irregular  attendance,  meager  curriculum,  and  a 
poorly  conducted  school.  Although  it  is  true  that 
much  progress  has  been  made  in  these  particulars 
during  the  past  three-quarters  of  a  century,  and 
although  in  certain  localities  conditions  are  con- 
sidered fairly  satisfactory,  the  need  for  reform  is 
more  strongly  and  more  generally  expressed  to-day 

*Reprinted  by  kind  permission  from  the   "Educational  Review." 
[1] 


The  Improvement  of 

than  at  any  previous  period  in  the  country's  histor3^ 
It  is  the  purpose  of  this  paper  to  analyze  the 
present  situation,  and  to  suggest  certain  advan- 
tages connected  with  one  general  method  of  attack- 
ing the  problem  of  its  improvement. 

Less  than  a  century  ago  we  were  a  homogeneous 
people,  with  agriculture  as  the  basis  of  our  economic 
life;  city  and  country  were  practically  on  an 
equality  politically,  economically,  and  socially. 
To-day  the  cities,  with  their  vast  industrial  and 
commercial  undertakings  are  dominant.  City  and 
country,  instead  of  being  in  close  sympathy  as 
formerly,  antagonize  each  other;  and  the  city,  be- 
cause of  its  superior  strength,  is  making  still 
greater  gains.  Our  educational  history  possesses 
similar  characteristics.  The  country  school  has 
shared  the  fate  of  its  environment.  Once  the  equal 
of  the  city  school,  it  has  been  left  far  behind.  It 
is  not  difficult  to  discover  the  reason  for  this  situ- 
ation —  it  lies  to  a  considerable  degree  in  the  char- 
acter and  in  the  environment  of  the  country  people. 
As  a  class,  conservative  and  thrifty,  and  without 
a  proper  appreciation  of  the  dignity  and  worth  of 
their  own  vocation,  of  country  life,  and  of  the 
value  of  education  for  the  promotion  of  their  well- 
being,  they  have  refused  to  grant  the  necessary 
support  and  other  benefits  for  the  betterment  of 
their  schools. 

Such,  briefly,   is  the  present  situation  from  the 
[2] 


The  Rural  School 

standpoint  of  the  past.  We  must  now  analyze 
those  tendencies  which  seem  to  be  shaping  the  fu- 
ture, with  a  view  to  determining  what  ends  shall 
be  striven  for,  what  obstacles  will  probably  be  met, 
and  what  new  development  may  assist  as  the  cam- 
paign for  the  improvement  of  the  rural  school  pro- 
gresses ;  for  it  seems  quite  certain  that  we  are  reach- 
ing a  turning-point  in  our  conception  of  the  school, 
and  that  new  forces  will  rise  in  rural  life. 

Until  within  the  past  fifteen  years  education  was 
generally  considered  as  a  process  of  developing  the 
individual;  the  function  of  the  school  under  that 
regime  was,  largely,  to  give  the  pupil  certain  defi- 
nite knowledge  which  led  chiefly  to  scholarly  or 
professional  pursuits,  and  to  cooperate  with  the 
other  institutions  in  society  in  developing  sound 
moral  principles.  In  the  past  few  years  the  social 
elements  in  education  have  been  gaining  recognition. 
The  individual  is  coming  to  be  regarded  as  a  social 
being;  every  child  is  to  be  prepared  in  the  fullest 
manner  for  life  and  for  service.  Education  is  be- 
coming democratic  in  fact  as  well  as  in  name.  As 
this  tendency  persists,  the  school  will  become  more 
closely  identified  with  the  community  life.  Putting 
this  another  way,  it  may  be  said,  the  traditional 
school  is  becoming  socialized.  This  socialized 
school  will  deal  with  the  life  of  each  child  in  that 
manner  which  will  best  promote  his  own  present 
and  future  good,  as  well  as  the  present  and  future 
[3] 


V 


The  Improvement  of 

good  of  other  persons  in  his  own  and  other  com- 
munities, whether  that  good  be  industrial  or  ass- 
thetic,  physical  or  moral,  intellectual  or  political. 
The  curriculum  will  be  made  up  of  elements  in  the 
social  life  with  which  the  child  comes  in  daily  con- 
tact; and  the  aim  in  the  conduct  of  the  school  will 
be  to  bring  about  natural  reactions  between  the  two 
factors  in  the  educational  process,  the  child  and  his 
environment,  thereby  promoting  in  each  child  the 
highest  intelligence  and  efficiency,  and  the  greatest 
capacity  for  service. 

The  same  movement  in  human  thought  which 
gave  birth  among  educators  to  the  socialized  school 
has,  within  the  past  few  years,  led  students  of 
social  and  economic  questions  to  the  discovery  that 
there  are  sociological  problems  in  rural  life  which 
will  probably  prove  as  difficult  of  solution  as  the 
sociological  problems  of  cities.  The  old  and  well- 
established  belief,  held  throughout  the  North,  that 
the  abnormalities  and  excesses  in  the  political  and 
social  life  of  the  cities  would  be  more  than  offset 
by  the  sanity  and  steadiness  of  the  land-owning 
farmers,  and  that  the  country  was  therefore  safe, 
has  been  severely  shaken,  if  not  entirely  shattered. 
A  recent  article  by  Mr.  Joseph  B.  Ross,  in  the 
North  American  Review,  shows  that  the  land-own- 
ing population  in  the  wealthy  agricultural  dis- 
tricts of  Indiana  is  leaving  the  country,  and  that 
entire  families  (not  a  child  or  two  of  each  family, 
[4] 


The  Rural  School 

as  formerly)  are  going  to  the  metropolis  to  enjoy 
its  social  and  other  advantages.  Their  farms  are 
leased  to  tenants  for  cash  rent  at  rates  which  are 
fixed  so  high  by  competition  that  the  tenants  do 
not  conserve  the  fertility  of  the  soil  nor  become 
attached  to  the  farms,  for  they  expect  to  move  on 
within  a  year  or  two  to  farms  where  better  terms 
of  rent  can  be  secured.  Under  such  conditions 
neither  the  land-owners,  who  pay  the  taxes,  nor  the 
tenants,  who  do  not  become  a  part  of  the  com- 
munity life,  are  interested  particularly  in  the  pro- 
motion of  the  common  welfare.  In  the  religious 
and  church  life,  instead  of  establishing  independent 
churches  and  abolishing  circuits,  the  movement  dur- 
ing the  last  ten  years  has  been  retracing  itself — - 
churches  are  abandoned  or  put  on  circuits,  and 
ministers  are  taking  up  other  vocations  to  earn  a 
livelihood.  Schools  have  lessened  enrollment,  or 
are  consolidated  with  other  schools.  It  is  even 
more  difficult  to  secure  the  voting  of  increased  taxes 
for  their  benefit  than  when  the  landowners  lived  on 
their  farms,  for,  although  the  tenants  would  like 
to  have  better  facilities  for 'the  education  of  their 
children,  the  threats  of  the  landlords,  who  live  in 
the  towns,  that  certain  privileges  will  be  withdrawn, 
or  that  the  rates  of  rent  will  be  raised,  often  prove 
sufficient  to  cause  the  tenants  to  refrain  from  voting 
in  accordance  with  their  desires. 

Agriculture    has    become    commercialized    and    a 
[5] 


X 


The  Improvement  of 

system  of  landlordism  has  been  evolved  in  many 
of  the  most  prosperous  townships  east  of  the  Mis- 
sissippi and  north  of  the  Ohio;  and  the  indications 
are  that  the  movement  will  spread,  unless  checked, 
throughout  all  the  North-Central  States.  Rural 
community  life  has  broken,  or  is  breaking,  down 
in  the  very  regions  in  which  conditions  for  its  per- 
petuity and  highest  development  seemed  most  pro- 
pitious, and  this  has  occurred  at  just  the  time  when 
the  isolation,  which  is  the  greatest  drawback  to 
country  life,  was  being  overcome  to  a  remarkable 
degree  by  the  construction  of  better  highways,  by 
free  rural  mail  delivery,  by  telephones  and  electric 
railways,  by  travel  to  distant  parts  during  the 
winters,  and  by  the  reading  of  the  daily  news- 
papers and  monthly  magazines.  This  result  is 
fraught  with  tremendous  consequences  to  the  polit- 
ical, economic  and  social  life  of  the  nation.  Real- 
izing these  dangers,  the  best  thought  of  some  of 
our  statesmen  and  citizens  has  been  awakened.  It 
is  now  clearly  seen  that  forces  must  be  developed, 
if  possible,  which  will  permanently  secure  a  land- 
owning population  upon  the  farms.  Rural  life 
must  be  enriched  to  the  point  where  it  is  just  as 
attractive  to  those  whose  natural  inclination  is  for 
the  open  country,  as  is  the  city  life  to  those  who 
best  enjoy  stress  and  strain.  Both  country  life 
and  city  life  are  necessary  to  the  prosperity  of  the 
nation,  and  the  former  should  be  considered  at  least 

[6] 


The  Rural  School 

equal  to  the  latter  in  dignity,  in  worth,  and  in  true 
happiness. 

We  may  reasonably  expect  the  work  of  organi- 
zations formed  for  the  purpose  of  promoting  better 
conditions  among  the  farmers  to  be  prominent  fac- 
tors in  rural  life  during  the  next  few  years.  It 
seems  reasonable,  also,  to  conclude  that,  because  of 
practical  identity  in  aims,  the  socialized  school  will 
receive  strong  support  from  these  new  forces. 

Let  us  now  direct  our  attention  to  the  question, 
what  part  may  the  socialized  school  be  expected  to 
take  in  the  promotion  of  better  conditions  in  rural 
life,  both  for  the  purpose  of  indicating  the  defi- 
nite ways  in  which  the  rural  school  should  be  im- 
proved, and  also  with  the  end  in  view  of  seeing 
whether  by  its  consideration  any  light  may  be 
thrown  upon  the  problem  set  forth  at  the  begin- 
ning of  this  paper,  what  is  the  best  general  method 
of  improving  the  rural  school. 

In  the  first  place,  it  is  to  be  said  that  the  social- 
ized rural  school  should  be  only  one  of  several  in- 
stitutions which  are  to  participate  in  the  promotion 
of  rural  life.  Organizations  among  the  farmers 
themselves  for  economic,  political,  physical,  intel- 
lectual, and  social  purposes,  and  among  the  farm- 
ers' wives  for  social,  domestic,  sanitary,  and  literary 
ends,  and  the  country  church  with  its  subsidiary 
organizations,  are  agencies  of  as  great  importance. 
The  school  must  cooperate  with  these  agencies,  all 
[7] 


X 


The  Improvement  of 

must  work  together  for  the  common  end,  as  it  has 
been  stated  by  ex-President  Roosevelt,  "  Better 
farming,  better  business,  better  living." 

In  the  second  place,  the  primary  function  of  the 
school  should  be,  as  in  the  past,  the  education  of 
the  children.  This  education  should  prepare  them 
for  the  living  of  an  intelligent,  appreciative,  effi- 
cient, and  happy  life  on  the  farm.  The  curriculum 
should  eventually  be  made  over  and  adapted  to  each 
local  environment ;  some  of  the  traditional  ideas  as  to 
the  conduct  of  schools  must  give  way  to  plans  which 
will  break  down  the  barrier  between  school  and  life. 

Two  points  in  this  connection  deserve  special 
consideration  because  they  deal  with  that  work 
which,  in  the  promotion  of  rural  life,  is  the  special 
province  of  the  school,  (a)  The  vacant  mind  of 
the  country  boy  or  girl  must  be  transformed  into 
the  active  mind,  occupied  with  the  myriad  signifi- 
cant activities  of  nature  in  plant  and  animal  growth. 
The  habits  of  close  observation,  and  of  careful 
comparison  and  analysis,  should  be  inculcated,  and 
such  an  interest  developed  in  the  problems  involved 
as  will  offset  the  superior  attractions  of  the  cities. 
Ways  to  satisfy  the  aesthetic  instincts  by  discover- 
ing the  countless  ever-changing  beauties  of  nature 
should  also  be  found.  In  short,  the  socialized 
school  should  reveal  to  the  child  the  country  life  in 
all  its  richness,  and,  in  so  doing,  create  a  genuine 
love  for  the  open  country. 

[8] 


The  Rural  School 

(b)  Education  in  agriculture  in  the  rural  schools 
should  not  be  limited  to  the  economic  end,  but 
should  also  minister  to  the  intellectual,  aesthetic,  and 
social  life.  In  the  popular  mind,  and  possibly  also 
in  the  cases  of  some  agriculturists,  agricultural 
education  and  development  have  been  largely  as- 
sociated with  economic  ends.  The  commerciali- 
zation of  agriculture  to  the  exclusion  of  other 
aspects  must  be  checked,  if  possible,  and  the  school, 
as  one  of  the  conservators  of  the  nation,  should 
be  so  conducted  as  to  counteract  this  tendency  rather 
than  to  promote  it. 

In  the  third  place,  the  socialized  school  should 
promote  such  organizations  among  the  pupils  as 
will  prepare  them  for  cooperative  action  in  adult  life. 

In  the  fourth  place,  the  socialized  school  should 
be  so  conducted  as  to  make  it  a  means  of  bringing 
the  parents  into  closer  relations  through  their  com- 
mon interest  in  the  children. 

In  the  fifth  place,  the  use  of  the  schoolhouse  as 
a  meeting-place  for  organizations  not  connected 
with  the  school  should  be  encouraged. 

And  finally,  in  the  sixth  place,  the  teacher  of  the 
socialized  school  should  be  a  social  worker.  In  a 
personal  capacity  he  or  she  should  participate  in 
all  those  movements  which  make  for  social  better- 
ment; he  should  cooperate  with  the  officers  of  the 
Farmers'  Union,  and  of  similar  organizations,  with 
committees  of  their  cooperative  business  organiza- 
[9] 


The  Improvement  of 

tions,  and  with  women's  clubs,  as  well  as  with  his 
pupils'  organizations.  His  cooperation  should  ex- 
tend also  to  the  ministers  of  the  country  churches, 
the  physicians,  the  boards  of  health,  and  all  other 
agencies  in  the  community  which  are  endeavoring 
to  promote  the  common  welfare. 

Having  analyzed  the  past  and  present  conditions 
surrounding  the  rural  school,  and  having  indicated 
the  functions  which  the  new  type  of  rural  school 
should  exercise,  we  are  ready  to  undertake  the  prac- 
tical problem  of  selecting  a  course  of  action  for  its 
improvement  which,  during  the  next  ten  or  twenty 
years,  will  most  probably  produce  the  best  results. 

The  deficiencies  of  the  traditional  rural  school 
—  unattractive  sites,  miserable  buildings,  poor 
equipment,  and  so  on  —  can  be  removed,  in  the 
main,  only  through  securing  increased  support. 
Increased  support  can  be  secured  by  educational 
campaigns  in  local  districts  under  existing  legisla- 
tion and  by  the  enactment  of  higher  minimum  stand- 
ards of  local  taxation,  by  withholding  a  part  or 
all  of  the  state  funds,  as  determined  by  inspection, 
by  placing  the  control  over  local  taxes  in  a  local 
body  representing  a  territory  sufficiently  large  to 
overcome  undue  conservatism  or  parsimony,  by  in- 
cluding cities  and  country  in  the  same  local  district, 
and  by  similar  devices.  Weak  districts  can  be 
helped  by  the  distribution  of  a  portion  of  the  state 
fund  upon  the  teacher  basis,  or  by  special  aid. 
[10] 


The  Rural  School 

Better  conduct  of  schools  would  ensue  in  many 
sections  if  schools  were  consolidated  and  pupils 
transported  at  public  expense. 

To  meet  the  requirements  for  the  establishment 
and  development  of  the  socialized  rural  school, 
speaking  generally,  not  increased  local  support  is 
necessary,  but  increased  teaching  power.  This  can 
be  secured,  first,  through  addresses  and  discussions 
in  educational  meetings  upon  rural  social  problems 
and  the  functions  of  the  school  and  of  teachers  in 
relation  thereto ;  second,  by  articles  of  the  same 
character  in  educational  journals;  third,  by  intro- 
ducing the  study  of  rural  sociology  in  normal  and 
summer  schools,  and  teachers'  institutes,  giving  it 
a  position  of  equality  with  psychology,  and  possi- 
bly for  a  few  years  a  higher  rank,  omitting,  if  nec- 
essary, methods  in  academic  subjects;  fourth,  by  re- 
quiring later  the  passing  of  an  examination  in  rural 
sociology  for  a  teacher's  certificate ;  and  fifth,  by  the 
gradual  modification  of  the  curriculum,  the  methods 
of  instruction,  and  of  the  conduct  of  the  school. 

The  correction  of  these  deficiencies  which  now  at- 
tach to  the  traditional  rural  school  is  dependent  al- 
most entirely  upon  the  consent  of  the  people, 
whereas,  the  attainment  of  increased  teaching 
power  is  more  largely  under  the  control  of  the  teach- 
ing profession  than  any  other  element  in  the  public 
school  system.  A  campaign  for  measures  which 
will  bring  about  new  legislation  and  consent  of 
[11] 


X 


The  Improvement  of 

voters,  must  in  most  cases  be  carried  on  against  a 
determined  opposition  and  prove  arduous  and  pro- 
longed. On  the  other  hand,  the  attitude  of  teachers 
generally  toward  their  work  produces  favorable 
conditions  for  the  gradual  evolution  of  a  socialized 
school  with  comparatively  infrequent  necessity  for 
appealing  to  the  people. 

Both  of  these  methods  of  approach  to  the  solu- 
tion of  the  rural  school  problem  are  necessary,  but, 
to  my  mind,  the  less  of  the  former  —  through 
consent  of  voters  —  and  the  more  of  the  latter  — 
through  professional  action  —  the  better,  and  for 
three  reasons:  (1)  The  socialized  school  will  help 
the  community,  no  matter  whether  the  school  re- 
ceives any  benefit  in  return:  this  in  itself  is  suffi- 
cient reward:  (2)  the  various  social  and  economic 
organizations  which,  it  seems,  will  soon  be  evolved 
among  the  farmers  themselves,  will  welcome  and  ap- 
preciate a  socialized  school,  and  will  often  volun- 
tarily grant  it  increased  support  and  other  benefits: 
(3)  if  a  new  rural  life  is  evolved  as  a  result  of  the 
efforts  of  the  various  agencies,  and  if  the  socialized 
school  performs  its  part  in  that  new  rural  life,  a 
campaign  for  increased  revenue  and  other  benefits 
to  carry  on  the  work  of  the  socialized  school,  when 
necessary,  will  present  only  a  few  difficulties  as  com- 
pared with  the  number  that  are  now  encountered 
because  of  the  broadened  visions  and  the  deeper 
appreciations  that  will  have  come  into  the  lives  of 
[12] 


The  Rural  School 

those  who  hve  in  the  country  through  the  work  of 
the  socialized  school  and  other  social  agencies. 

I  well  realize  that  a  mimimum  of  support  must 
precede  the  advocacy  of  the  extension  and  modifi- 
cation of  the  functions  of  the  school,  and  that 
political  action  is  frequently  necessary  thereto. 
Support,  I  know,  is  dependent  upon  the  abihty  of 
the  people  to  pay  the  taxes,  but  it  nevertheless  re- 
mains that  the  greater  extent  to  which  the  school 
ministers  to  the  social  life  of  the  people,  the  more 
liberally  wiU  it  be  supported,  and  the  less  proba- 
bility will  there  be  of  the  necessity  of  wringing 
money  from  a  people  who  are  able  to  pay,  and  who 
will  not,  or  of  asking  favors  from  those  who  are 
not  inclined  to  grant  them. 

Situated  midway  between  the  political  and  edu- 
cational measures  for  the  improvement  of  the  rural 
school  is  a  device,  partaking  of  the  nature  of  both, 
and  constituting  a  powerful  agency  for  the  im- 
provement of  the  rural  school.  A  professional 
body  of  county,  assistant  county,  and  other  rural 
superintendents,  chosen  by  boards  elected  by  the  peo- 
ple, without  reference  to  their  residence,  would  in- 
crease many-fold  the  teaching-power  of  the  teachers 
and  greatly  promote  the  advancement  of  all  social 
organizations  in  the  country.  I  know  of  no  better 
agency  in  educational  administration  for  the  pro- 
motion of  rural  life. 

The  difficulty  connected  with  securing  this  in- 
[13] 


The  Rural  School 

creased  supervision  is  that  the  necessary  modifi- 
cations involved  are,  like  the  removal  of  the 
deficiencies,  of  the  traditional  school,  dependent 
upon  the  voters.  Because  the  office  of  rural  super- 
intendent contains  so  many,  and,  to  some  extent, 
superior,  elements  of  the  position  of  teacher,  I 
would  place  the  importance  of  securing  its  estab- 
lishment above  that  of  other  political  measures  in 
those  states  in  which  conditions  are  at  all  favorable 
for  securing  it. 

The  rural  school  problem  is  a  part  of  the  rural 
life  problem,  the  solution  of  which  depends  in  the 
end  upon  the  farmers.  The  school  as  one  of  the 
institutions  of  the  state  which  tends  to  its  conserva- 
tion, should  perform  its  part  in  the  broader  prob- 
lem, but  what  it  can  do  finally  depends  largely  upon 
the  ability  of  those  who  teach  to  so  take  hold  of 
the  situation  as  to  influence  rural  life  in  the  right 
direction  and  to  obtain  the  approval  of  the  farmers. 
Cooperative  eff"ort  is  the  key  to  the  situation,  and 
educators  must  do  their  part  by  developing  teach- 
ing and  supervising  power  to  the  highest  possible 
efficiency,  by  performing  loyal  social  service  when- 
ever opportunity  presents  in  their  fields  of  duty, 
and  by  carrying  on  vigorous  campaigns  for  polit- 
ical action  in  case  the  development  of  the  socialized 
school  is  prevented  or  seriously  hindered  by  political 
conditions. 

[14] 


SOCIAL   SERVICE    BULLETIN 

(For  the  first  ten  titles  in  this  series  see  inside 
front  cover  oi  this  Bulletin.) 

No.  1 1 .     The  Wise  Direction  of  Church  Activ- 
ities Toward  Social  Welfare.    By  Charles 
W.  Eliot. 
Points  out  effective  social  work  which  churches  can  do. 
No.  12.     The  Democracy  of  the  Kingdom.     By 
Rt.  Rev.  Charles  D.  Williams,  D.D. 
The  church  must  stand  for  men  simply  as  men. 
No.  13.     Bad  Housing  and  What  it  Means  to 
the  Community.     By  Albion  Fellows  Bacon. 
The  effect  of  slum  life  on  physical  and  moral  health. 
No.    14.      City     Building     in    Germany.      By 
Frederic  C.  Howe. 
Art,  foresight,  and  common-sense  in  city  development. 
No.  15.     Religious  Work  and  Opportunity  in 
Country  Towns. 
The  Report  of  a  Committee  of  Investigation. 
No.  16.     Comprehensive   Planning    for    Small 
Towns  and  Villages.     By  John  Nolen. 
How  to  prevent  mistakes  in  the  growth  of  towns. 
No.  17.    The   Inter-relation    of   Social   Move- 
ments.    By  Mary  E.  Richmond. 
Shows  how  different  social  movements  are  connected. 
No.     18.     Vocational     Guidance.  By    Meyer 

Bloomfield. 
An  effort  to  fit  youth  for  their  life  work. 


Order  by  number  only,  not  by  iitle. 


AMERICAN     UNITARIAN     ASSOCIATION 
25  Beacon  Street,  Boston. 


V 


